Energy Center

Solar Seminar Series

April 1 @ 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM - BRK room 2001

The Energy Center is pleased to welcome Professor Brian Norton to campus on April 1, 2014. His lecture titled: Solar Energy Research at Dublin Institute of Technology will be in BRK Room 2001 from 1-2 pm.

The presentation will cover an overview of solar energy research at Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). Key factors that influence economic viability of solar energy for different applications in different parts of the world will be discussed. In the context of thermal energy storage two projects will be described; one is the use of phase change materials for extending the capacity of domestic hot water tanks and the other concerns linking demand-side energy storage with the grid to enable high levels of large scale renewable energy electricity generation. Some current developments on solar thermal will be described including solar heating and the development of very low heat loss evacuated glazing. For photovoltaic applications, work on luminescence concentration and down-shifting will be described as well as a novel technique for the thermal management of photovoltaics. Current work on improving the performance viability and life time of large scale of photovoltaic arrays will be presented. The lecture will conclude with a short description of the new sustainable campus for DIT’s city centre campus in Ireland’s capital.

Professor Brian Norton has led DIT for nine years. He has played a full role in developing and promoting DIT in national and international contexts. He is the author or co-author of six books (including a sole-authored major advanced text) and over 400 papers including 170 in learned journals. He has supervised nearly forty doctorates and serves as Associate Editor of “Solar Energy” the premier international journal in the field and on three other editorial boards.

He has a BSc (Hons) in Physics from University of Nottingham and MSc and PhD degrees, in Engineering Experimentation and Applied Energy respectively, from Cranfield University and DSc from the University of Nottingham. He is a Fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering, the Energy Institute and the Institution of Engineers of Ireland. He is a Chartered Engineer (both in the UK and Ireland) and Fellow, Higher Education Academy. Among his awards are the Napier Shaw Medal of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers, the Roscoe Award of the Energy Institute and the Honorary Fellowship of the CIBSE, the highest honour for his professional discipline. Previously he was Professor of Built Environmental Engineering at University of Ulster.